10th August, 2018 – Sean O’Casey Community Centre, Dublin, Ireland

Fight Factory Pro Wrestling presented their biggest show to date Grapple Games; The fifth episode since using the Sean O’Casey Community Centre (AKA the Big Sean) as a home venue for the promotion. FFPW has been one of the leading training schools in Irish Wrestling for a number of years preparing the likes of Jordan Devlin, LJ Cleary, Michael May, Katey Harvey and Valkyrie for bigger and better things. Recently on the Spandex Pantomime (The podcast hosted by Justy), head trainer Phil Boyd said they had nearly 25-30 people in the School show ready to go – so places on these shows are hard to come by. It’s a very good problem to have!

It’s a warm August evening (albeit not as warm as it was back in June for their last show) but the Sean O’Casey community centre AKA The Big Sean is already getting quite hot. The venue is smack bang in the centre of East Wall which is 15 minutes outside Dublin city centre and holds about 250 people. Based on the queue before the show – it’s very likely that they hit that number. One thing to note was that most of the active Main Stage Wrestling roster (The other big training school) along with several OTT names have come out to support the show tonight and take their seats with the rest of the audience. It’s that kind of camaraderie which has fostered a really healthy atmosphere for growth and support in Irish Wrestling.

The show kicks off with Rick Nash, GM of FFPW, coming out and cutting a promo that felt like it was lifted straight from the Hunger Games script. He goes on how Vince McMahon is the Capitol and he’s been oppressing the smaller “districts” and now it’s time to take stand. Thankfully this doesn’t go on too long before the music of Phil “The Thrill” Boyd hits and Mr. Small Package himself comes out.

Phil talks about how the show is so stacked that he’s not booked for a match. He goes through the list of FFPW alumni and current students and thanks them and the fans for supporting FFPW. He’s interrupted by B-Cool. The Hardy Tank doesn’t take nicely to being left off the show and not being mentioned by Boyd. It seems like we’re getting an impromptu match here before we’re interrupted once again; this time by Supernintenbro Owen Richards. Owen suggests that the three have a triple threat match before we hear the sound of “Yup the Tuck” and Dom Tuck making his way out in his mother’s cashmere cardigan but this time he’s not alone, He’s flanked by Conor Daye, Devon West and Dylan Smith. The trio – without Tuck 0 storm the ring but immediately regret their decision as they are made quick work of by Boyd, B-Cool and Richards. Dom Tuck then takes to the ring to try sneak attack B-Cool but pays for it by being hit with an assisted stalling suplex/superkick combo by Boyd and Richards, An extremely tight small package by Boyd & a Brainbuster from B-Cool. After the altercation, Owen Richards tries to be smart with B-Cool and eats a Brainbuster for his efforts too.

I enjoyed this segment on the show, a great way of getting some of the bigger names that people are accustomed to on the show without overbooking the card.

MATCH 1: Project Next Gen: Justin Daniels vs. John Bernard

Project Next Gen is the initiative announced on Episode 5 to showcase the newer and less established trainees on the FFPW Roster. Last Month featured “Flamboyant” Fabio versus Justin Daniels in an extremely impressive match which was the first singles match for both wrestlers in which Fabio was the successful in that contest. This meant that Daniels had a point to prove in his second match. The 14 year old (yes you’ve read that correctly) is a natural heel with a cocky, arrogant, better than you persona who can back it up in the ring. He was announced with his weight being billed as “None of your business”.

His opponent; “The Intergalactic, Across The Universe Travelling Scientist” John Bernard is no stranger to the FFPW ring either. Bernard in his current gimmick appeared in a Battle Royale on Episode 4 where he was one of the standouts (The other being Daniels).  I’ve really liked John Bernard as a character in Fight Factory and his appearances in PWU – It’s something different in a good way. You can tell he’s having a tonne of fun with the character and his promos have been excellent alongside Owen Richards as a part of RetroGalactic.

Before the match, John Bernard tried to take a sip of his red concoction from a test tube but Referee Eddie Sideburns was not going to allow this to happen. The match between these two was very even with Bernard and Daniels getting equal opportunities to control the match. Daniels did one of my favourite heel indie tropes of getting the crowd to move from the chairs teasing throwing his opponent into the back row before rolling him back into the ring instead. I was really impressed with Daniel’s offense throughout this match. His strikes are on point. Towards the end of the match, the referee was distracted which allowed Bernard to finally swig from the test tube and power up finishing Daniels with a scissors kick to pick up the win.

This was a great showcase for both and especially Daniels in a losing effort. He’s 0-2 in these Project Next Gen matches so maybe he’ll need to rethink his strategy going into the next show.

MATCH 2:

Blindfold Match: The Armstrongs (Butch & Marion) vs. The Enterprise (Luke Cullen & Liam Royal)

This match stemmed from their interactions at Pro Wrestling Ulster with the Enterprise claiming they could beat the Armstrongs blindfolded. The Armstrongs made a similar case and lo and behold – we got ourselves a blindfold match.

The Enterprise have been on a tear since splitting from LJ Cleary at the start of the year. Liam Royal is one of the more imposing big guys out of Fight Factory and he’s really started to break out in his performances in Pro Wrestling Ulster as well as at the July 6th Trinity Brawl show. (Report!)

The Armstrongs are setting to make all of Ireland into Armstrong country and have worked for OTT, PWU, CCW, Phoenix and now Fight Factory. The Baby F’N Faces have become one of my favourite duos in Irish wrestling through their promos and their antics in their matches. They aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but in a scene where comedy wrestling still has a massive place in people’s hearts they are standouts.

During the entrances, Butch Armstrong walks out with the blindfold on leading to Marion having to guide him into the ring.

This is exactly how you think it went. Highlights from this included; Liam Royal doing a leapfrog spot and hitting a dropkick on nothing. Marion Armstrong hitting a suicide dive while blindfolded on his teammate and the Enterprise on the outside. There was an attempted 4-person German Suplex spot which ended up in a 3 man rollup. One of the telling signs during this match were two young kids sitting on the opposite side of the venue absolutely laughing their hearts out at this along with the parents.

Unfortunately, The Enterprise had enough of the blindfold antics with Luke removing his, low blowing Butch Armstrong while the referee was down and finishing off the Armstrongs.

Both teams played to their strengths here, It would not surprise me if the Enterprise aren’t hitting OTT contenders soon as they’ve improved so much in the space of a year.

MATCH 3: Katey Harvey vs. Raven Creed

A match that most Irish wrestling fans were clamoring for featured The Queen of Irish Wrestling and current GWF Women’s Champion Katey Harvey against Raven Creed.

This was a very good match between the two ladies with Raven showing why she’s such a versatile performer so early on in her career. It doesn’t matter if she’s in front of a kids show or in front of the rowdy fans in the Tivoli. She will make you dislike her. Katey Harvey looked in fantastic shape too. She’s been consistently one of the best female performers in the country and has been flying the flag for the Irish abroad over the last few years.  Both women had equal periods of control but Raven took control on the outside primarily chopping Katey Harvey in front of some young fans in attendance before ramming Katey into the ringpost.

Katey however fought back and attempted to finish Raven off with her signature Gory bomb but Raven was smart enough to roll out of the ring out of danger. Katey picked up the win debuting a new finisher (it looked similar to the Omega plex in a sit-out variant) to put away Raven.

A strong showing by both and I for one hope it isn’t Raven’s last time in Dublin for FFPW.

MATCH 4: Irish Tag Team Championship Match:

More Than Hype (Darren Kearney & Nathan Martin) vs. Collar & Elbow (Justy & Alexander Dean)

The Big Bleh Bleh Belt boys make their third defence of the Irish Tag Team Titles against the veterans in Collar & Elbow.

It’s not the first time these two teams have interacted over the titles with the recent 4 way elimination match on Episode 4 coming down to these two teams in the final. I love Collar & Elbow as a team. Justy and Dean are a real throwback in terms of their in-ring style and they made sure that More Than Hype played their game and not their own.

This was really important for MTH to show their versatility as a tag team. Their last few matches have been at their blistering pace (V Flight Mode in Phoenix Wrestling, V Club Rock Shandy on Episode 5) so seeing them struggle a bit with Collar & Elbows tactics was a change. Darren Kearney bore the brunt of the punishment from Dean and Justy with both men making quick tags and keeping Kearney in the corner. This led to Nathan Martin’s hot tag as “Psycho Nathan” took it to Justy and Dean. Collar & Elbow eventually succumbed to half crabs from Nathan & Darren despite Dean’s best efforts to hold Justy’s hand to prevent him tapping.

This was an excellent match from both teams and definitely one for the tag team purists out there.

After the match, The Enterprise jumped More Than Hype making it clear that they want a shot at the Irish Tag Team titles. I’m sold on this one already.

MATCH 5: Nightmare Edition (Tron & J.D.P.) vs. Club Rock Shandy (Martin Steers & Clayton Long)

This match was set up from the previous episode where Nightmare Edition came through the crowd and attacked Club Rock Shandy at the end of their defeat to More Than Hype giving Martin Steers a concussion. Club Rock Shandy then begged General Manager Rick Nash for a match – even if it’s unsanctioned.

J.D.P. and Tron responded to the challenge and said they’d be there.

Club Rock Shandy made their way out and cut a very fiery promo calling out the behemoths from the North whilst GM Rick Nash begged them to stop. J.D.P. and Tron again appeared through the crowd and Nash – fearing for his own safety – granted them the match.

Steers and Clong actually had some success in taking it to Nightmare Edition with repeated Suicide Dives to the big men on the outside. They also brought some equalizers into the ring with a kendo stick and an umbrella which Steers completely smashed up. However it did not end well for Club Rock Shandy when a Sabu-esque leap from Steers was caught by J.D.P. while Clong was being buried into the mat by Tron with a Chokeslam into a sitout Powerbomb. Club Rock Shandy were left broken along with the Fight Factory ring.

This was an awesome interaction between the two teams and the fire shown by Club Rock Shandy was incredible. Steers and Clong are only starting their journeys but they are an extremely excited prospect on the Irish tag scene in the next few months. Nightmare Edition as well still feel like something special in Irish Wrestling. In an island where most wrestlers like the UK fit the cruiserweight build, these mountains of men stand out literally and proverbially and extremely smart by FFPW to bring them in regularly.

MATCH 6: Doug Williams vs. Sean “Maxer” Guinness

After a short break to fix the ring, we got a continuation of the 2001 Zero-1 vs. NOAH feud (Thanks @Alan4L) with Sean Maxer going up against British Wrestling royalty Doug Williams.

I’ve been lucky enough to see Doug quite a bit over the last year as he’s made a few visits to OTT as part of their contenders shows and had stellar matches with technical standout Michael May. It does feel like this is Doug’s final stretch and that this may be the last time we get to see the legend wrestle in Ireland.

Sean Maxer has been a very welcome addition back on the Irish scene since his return from his extended stay in Zero-1. He’s had amazing encounters in OTT recently losing to WALTER in an incredible match.

This match was a change from Maxer’s usual quick and strong strike based offence with Doug and Maxer going hold for hold in a very technical bout to begin with. However, it didn’t take long for Doug to start using his power and size difference against Maxer.

In a bit of a surprise, Doug managed to get the win here off the back of a pin exchange between himself and Maxer. Maybe one last hurrah before the boots are hung up for good? Only time will tell but this was a great encounter between two veterans of their respective scenes. It was also nice to see Maxer in a similar position as MTH in the tag match, changing up his style and showing his versatility as a performer. It baffles me that he’s yet to get a UK booking since his return as he’s one of the best in the country right now and with an international pedigree.

MATCH 7: The Grapple Games for the Irish Junior Heavyweight Championship:

Jordan Devlin © vs.  Valkyrie vs. LJ Cleary vs. Michael May vs. Sammy D vs.  J-Money

This match was a culmination of two shows worth of build with NXT: UK Star and current OTT World Champion Jordan Devlin defending the Irish Junior Heavyweight Title that he won from LJ Cleary on Episode 1.

All challengers had to qualify for this match, all of these taking place on the previous two episodes.

Michael May, the technician and arguably the best technical wrestler on the island currently beat fellow Legit 100 member and standout Scotty Davis to qualify while Valkyrie qualified as a surprise entrant after beating Debbie Keitel. LJ Cleary qualified by putting away Axx Glover in convincing fashion and Sammy D qualified by beating former tag partner B Cool to qualify. Lastly, J-Money won a Battle Royale for entry into the match –  however he had to regain his place by defeating Phil Boyd on Episode 5.

The match was very fast paced and frantic as to be expected from a 6 person match not too dissimilar to anyone who’s seen a Fight Club Pro scramble match.

Jordan Devlin is the first to be thrown out of the ring to leave the remaining five to slug it out. Sammy D is the only true heel in this match getting hiss sounds from the crowd and a “Sammy – You’re a Snake!” chants too. The crowd obviously big Letterland fans.

One of the highlights of this was J-Money attempting to bribe everyone before putting on a 4 person headlock.

The true star of this match though was Valkyrie and she had some of the best exchanges in the match include a top rope scissor kick to Sammy D.

The crowd was eating this up and reached fever pitch until the very end when Valkyrie hit a DDT variant on Jordan to pick up the win. There was confusion though with the finish as the referee only counted two before calling the bell. However, the decision stood and Valkyrie is the new Irish Junior Heavyweight Champion. Katey Harvey and fellow competitor LJ Cleary came into the ring to congratulate the new ace of FFPW.

Final Thoughts: This was another incredible show from FFPW and a testament to their depth in their school and how well they’ve built these episode shows – definately one of the best non-OTT shows on the island this year. FFPW are producing some special talent and I feel like we’re getting to see the development of huge stars in the future, not just in Ireland but on the world stage.

FFPW Episode 6 Will be available on the Low Blows network soon.

✏️ @GaryOnGraps