July 6th, 2018 – Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

Irish Wrestling went into a frenzy when Alexander Dean and J-Money both tweeted cryptically about a mysterious July 6th date in the middle of June. What unfolded was a showcase show in the unique setting of the Players Theatre in Trinity College Dublin.

The show sold out very quickly with just under 200 hardcore fans squeezing in the tiny Black Box Theatre which would eventually turn into a sauna by the end of the night, however fans were kept in good spirits by virtue of being allowed to bring their own beer/refreshments. Good call.

The show opened with J Money’s butler Alfonse introducing us to the show and the ring announcer for the night, Manto. These would also be the ring announcers and hosts for the evening.  Just as we were about to have the first match, Alexander Dean and Justy made their way out to the ring. Dean boasts that he was running the show and he had the evening’s agenda. Despite this, Alfonse retorts to Dean that he has a match sorted but Justy is out of luck and doesn’t have a bout.

I’ve always liked the pairing of the two Fight Factory coaches together as a Tag Team in the form of Collar & Elbow. Dean, formerly known as Sean South, is a veteran of the Irish scene who has recently returned to in-ring action –  having wrestled nearly everywhere in Ireland as well as outside the isle for the likes of Dragon Gate Europe.

Justy is also on a decent run, despite being off OTT shows since last fall (after leaving due to some differences with OTT management) he’s been working Cork Championship Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Ulster along with the Fight Factory shows.

Justy wouldn’t have to wait long for an opponent, however, with Fight Factory’s Super Nintenbro Owen Richards taking the challenge. He’s a built dude and has been steadily improving in ring over the past year since his debut and gradual transition into singles competition.

Richards and Justy end up brawling in an unofficial match and manage to scuffle their way up to the crow’s nest before disappearing.

MATCH 1:

Liam Royal & Martin Steers vs. “The Real Deal” Andy Steele & Admiral Sexsea

Club Tropicana was originally scheduled to be represented by Captain Sexsea but unfortunately he came down with a bout of scurvy – thus being replaced by his grandfather, the founder of Club Tropicana: Admiral Sexsea. The Admiral came complete with a cane, back problems and a massive beard.

His tag team partner; Andy Steele is a name that has only recently popped up for me ever since he was booked for Uprising Wrestling in Belfast. He’s trained by Emerald Wrestling based in the Irish Midlands and has also spent time in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Los Angeles Dojo. He’s been primarily wrestling with the touring promotion Wrestling.ie.

Their opponents representing Fight Factory Pro Wrestling are Liam Royal (of the Enterprise) and Martin Steers (of Club Rock Shandy) as an odd couple pairing. Liam Royal considered himself as “Staunch” and did not believe Steers was on his level. I’ve been really impressed with the strides by both of these two in recent months. The Enterprise Tag Team consisting of Royal and his tag partner Cullen have been entertaining on the Fight Factory shows. Royal is one of the bigger guys on the Irish scene and carries himself well. He’s got good comedic timing too which really helps. Steers has been wrestling for less than a year and debuted at the Hangar show in December last year. His team with Clayton Long as the world-famous Club Rock Shandy is showing great potential and they recently had a MOTN candidate with More Than Hype at the equally sweaty FFPW show in June.

A lot of this match was based around comedy and the frailty of Admiral Sexsea. Royal and Steers were apprehensive to wrestle him at first but eventually that changed. Another prevalent story was Royal withholding Steers’ precious Rock Shandy drink which played into Steers excellent hot tag during the match. I was really impressed with the ring presence of Steele here. He looked crisp and definitely the most technically gifted of the four in the ring.

This match did feel a tad on the long side but was enjoyable and a good opener with the team of Steers and Royal picking up the win.

 

We skip to a video of Justy and Owen Richards battling around the campus of Trinity College. Justy ends up in a skip before fishhooking Richards and dragging him in.

 

MATCH 2: Dmitri Krakovic vs. Wreck it Rodgers

Next match was another of Fight Factory’s standouts against a name that hasn’t appeared on shows recently in the form of Wreck it Rodgers. Rodgers has been working primarily for Wrestling.ie after a fallout with PWU management but he has improved a fair bit since his PWU run.

Dmitri burst onto the scene mid last year and has continually impressed me. The guy is still in his teens and has talent to burn. He’s also very gifable.

This was a relatively short match, with Rodgers working heel here against the Serbian. Definitely impressed with how good Rodgers’ fundamentals were. Despite this, Dmitri was victorious with a beautiful spiral tap on Rodgers. This guy is someone to keep your eye on in the coming years.

 

MATCH 3:

Debbie Keitel vs. Amy Allonsy vs. Raven Creed vs. Valkyrie vs. Dolly Belle vs. Rhia O’Reilly

The show started to pick up from this point with some of the many impressive ladies of Irish wrestling getting a chance to shine. With the Irish Wrestling scene only coming into a resurgence in the last few years, the women have maybe taken a little longer to establish itself but in this match the audience got to see five of Ireland’s best as well as surprise name.

First of all, Debbie Keitel emerged and showed off her “Dark Debbie” alter ego –  which is her first time working heel outside of very small local shows. This darker and more femme fatale version of Debbie blew me away. She’s a natural at this and it’s something I hope we see more of.

Amy Allonsy is a name that doesn’t get mentioned as much as the Fight Factory standouts but she’s someone not to be ignored either having improved quite a lot in the past year. This was her first taste of an over-18s audience.

Raven Creed is someone who excels in the over-18 environment. She has her character nailed down and is definitely one of the standouts from Cork. It’s crazy to think that she is less than a year since making her debut in Dublin.

Valkyrie is the name on most people’s lips when it comes to standouts on the Irish scene – being so athletically gifted and such a strong ring presence as well as being one of the few to branch outside of Ireland at the moment.

Lastly, Katey Harvey was unable attend the show due to “repeated shoulder surgeries” but filling in for her was a standout from Netflix’s GLOW in Dolly Belle. The two look remarkably similar.

The surprise entrant in this match was Pro Wrestling EVE’s Rhia O’Reilly who got a massive pop from the crowd. This is O’Reilly’s first time Wrestling in the Republic and someone I was definitely glad to see and a legitimate surprise.

The match itself was an elimination match – which unfortunately got a little sloppy with the ring announcers seemingly not realising until well into the match. There were some great interactions between Debbie and Amy as well as Debbie and Dolly. The final two came down to Valkyrie and Raven, with Valkyrie picking up the win with her top rope scissors kick followed by her standing moonsault.

This match was a lot of fun and the O’Reilly appearance was so well done. Anyone who gets the hallowed “HOLY SHIT!” chant in their entrance is obviously doing something right!

MATCH 4: Steve Savage vs. Alexander Dean

The final match before the show’s intermission saw the debut of Steve Savage from CCW against “The Reptilian Overlord” Alexander Dean.

This is my first time seeing Savage and I was not familiar with him beforehand having trained with CCW and only wrestling a handful of matches for them.

As mentioned earlier, Dean is someone I’ve seen a fair bit of through Fight Factory Pro Wrestling – with Dean having only recently returned to the ring within the last year or so after a lengthly absence. He’s definitely someone who is able to deliver it in the ring and on the microphone. He’s very hateable in a good way.

Before the match, Dean cuts a promo pushing his “Agenda”, calling Steve Savage green and besmirching the name of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins which got a massive reaction from the crowd.

The match itself between these two was short. Dean looked smooth and effortless in the ring as always and Savage got some decent offence in before picking up the win.

The crowd were really not into this but it wasn’t down to Dean and Savages efforts, the heat of the venue really got to people at this point. Intermission couldn’t come quick enough.

 

During the intermission we also got an update on the brawl between Justy and Owen Richards in the crowd, before spilling backstage again.

MATCH 5: Angel Cruz vs. J-Money

Our first match back from intermission was a battle of two ‘larger than life’ characters in Irish Wrestling; the well established ‘Ultrastar’ Angel Cruz  taking on “The Swag Superstar” J-Money.

Angel Cruz needs no introduction – the axe-wielding, old school screaming Ultrastar of OTT has been on a roll the past two years and has subsequently become one of the most beloved wrestlers in Ireland.

His opponent, J-Money is on track to emulate his rival despite having less than a year in the business.  J-Money has charisma to burn (as quickly as his chequebook) and it helps that he’s great in the ring.

First thing to note about this match were the epic entrances; Angel Cruz emerged from the smoke and lasers weilding a double edged axe and was joined by Rick, a member of Team Prick.

J-Money not wanting to be topped, descended from the rafters on two hoists making it rain J-Money swagbucks.

This was a really fun comedy match between the two with lots of shenanigans. J-Money managed to pay off the referee at one point who in turn attacked Angel Cruz and slammed him. Angel then took out the referee and got Rick to find a replacement ref and in stepped Irish Wrestling superfan and all-round icon Linus (@LinusRII on twitter) to ref briefly before being shooed out by Angel Cruz for not getting him the win. Angel eventually picked up the win with a tombstone on J-Money to get the three.

Again, a really fun match between these two – nothing crazy on a technical level but solid and full of laughs.

At this point, Owen Richards and Justy’s brawl around Trinity came to an end. Owen Richards channeled his inner Solid Snake by hiding in a cardboard box before Justy attempted to outsmart him by hitting a moonsault on the box. Justy missed (sorry Justy, the box did not move) and Owen Richards managed to pick up the win in what will be the longest match in Irish Wrestling this year.

The segments these guys did throughout the show were excellently shot and genuinely hilarious. A great addition to the night’s proceedings.

 

MATCH 6:

Paddy “Suicide Machine” Morrow, “Filthy” Phil Boyd & Scotty Davis vs. More Than Hype (Darren Kearney, Nathan Martin & LJ Cleary)

Just before this match took place, Justy opted to headbutt the official – ruling him out of the match.

This match marked the overdue return of Paddy Morrow to the hot Irish Wrestling scene – long considered a hidden gem and one of the best wrestlers to come from the Isle. A product of NWA Ireland who trained with the likes of Prince Devitt, Paul Tracey and Jordan Devlin. Paddy recent had a run with OTT as part of the Lads from the Flats and instantly showed why many in Ireland considered him pound for pound one of the best.

His first partner, Scotty Davis, has been killing it as part of OTT’s Contenders shows and has recently been named as one of Will Ospreay’s Young Lions in Frontline. He’s someone I’ve previously mentioned in my ConTENders review as a standout.

Phil Boyd is also of the same generation as Paddy. Also a NWA Ireland trained wrestler, Phil decided to leave his professional ambitions to take over the running of Fight Factory Pro Wrestling as head coach and he’s been instrumental in nurturing the talent who are currently breaking out. He’s no slouch in the ring however and is a regular with Fight Factory and Pro Wrestling Ulster and recently competed against NWA World Champion Nick Aldis.

The More Than Hype lads have also been making waves too as part of OTT Contenders. They’ve become one of the most popular acts in Ireland and are starting to branch out to into the North of the England in the coming months.

Just as everyone was making their entrances, a face from Scottish Wrestling past (and wrestling twitter currently) @EddieSideburns came out in the stripes to referee this match as a surprise for the More Than Hype trio.

This was a excellent match between the two teams. Paddy got to show off why he’s still one of the best and the crowd were with him all the way. You wouldn’t think that he was away for so long. He got to have some decent time with all members of MTH. Ultimately it was Phil that was the downfall of their team constantly tagging in taking away from Scotty and Paddy. The master of the small package ended up frustrating his Tag partners so much that they turned on him and allowed More Than Hype to pick up the win.

 

Overall Thoughts:

Shows like #July6th (and by extension, #WrestlingDeutschland) do so much to elevate the profile of some lesser known talent and give the hardcore fans some matches they wouldn’t normally see elsewhere. The production values of the show were incredible and apart from some slight tech hiccups and some brief announce gaffes, it was a fun, memorable night of wrestling for a one off show. Definitely worth seeking out. 

Trinity Brawl is available on demand via the Low Blows Network

✏️ @GaryOnGraps