On a show designed to say farewell to one star, another took the leap and captured the big one!
After just over a year in Fight Club: Pro – a run that saw him pick up only three wins and 14 losses, – Travis Banks came in with a title shot, having beaten Dunne at All The Best last month… and he had something else in his back pocket!
David Starr vs. Killian Jacobs vs. Dan Moloney vs. Omari
This was Killian’s return to FCP after going down to Splits McPins at January’s WrestleHouse show… the match starts how you’d expect – glove and boot based banter towards Dan. His response? Calling out that Killian Jacobs is dressed like a Quality Street chocolate… so everyone superkicks him.
Dives from all feature a tornillo from Jacobs, who’s looking like a less jacked Emil Sitoci, but he gets a boot and a chop from the Glove of Dan, before Killian returned to hit a springboard corkscrew senton to the floor! Omari’s spinning suplex gets rid of Jacobs, but he’s quickly thrown into the turnbuckles by Moloney, who was a one-man wrecking crew at times, especially when he got the help of David Starr, whose superplex attempt ended up with the pair of them taking a double powerbomb from Omari, who then ate a 450 from Jacobs for a near-fall.
After some chops, Moloney slaps Starr with a glove for a duel… but instead he just gets a groin thrusted his way. A tiltawhirl facebuster takes down Moloney, but Starr gets trapped with a leg lariat in the corner, before a Fisherman’s suplex sees Omari get a near-fall. Quality Street Jacobs drills Omari with a headlock driver, but there’s no pin attempted… he does come back with a Spanish Fly that Moloney steals a near-fall on.
Jacobs goes diving again, but Starr catches him with a DDT through the ropes, before a rolling forearm to the back and the Product Placement (straitjacket German suplex) gets the win. A fun opener, without too much of it being patterned or wacky for the sake of it. ***½
Not content with killing a man last night, Martina’s back with her water pistol, and she wants a “real match”. Her opponent’s already in the room… so everyone screams for Warren. Eventually Martina points to… a stuffed giraffe down a fan’s shirt.
Martina vs. Stuffed Giraffe
The giraffe gives Martina a run for her money, but Martina makes her ability to move without referee Shay doing it for her count… but the giraffe has better cardio! All of a sudden though, an air raid siren hits, and I guess we have a third entrant!
Kay Lee Ray declares that this looks like fun, but before she can do anything, she’s dragged back through the curtain and to the back. It’s the Anti-Fun Police… but not as we know it. It’s Constable Kay Lee Ray. Spelled slightly different, but I’m not tripping any filters with that word!
Martina vs. Stuffed Giraffe vs. Const. Kay Lee Ray
This is now an “interspecies” three-way! And yes, the Giraffe got it’s own entrance graphic.
Con. Ray kicked the giraffe out of the ring… so Martina went to shoot her with the nerf gun. Instead, it was Shay who took the bullet!
With Shay dead, Ray puts the boots to Martina, who fights back, only to run into an enziguiri. Martina’s wasn’t quite as effective, but she manages to make a comeback, with Shay still dead. Nobody cares about him! A Codebreaker takes down Con. Ray, but there’s still no ref! So Martina goes for her can of Carlsberg and raises Shay from the dead by pouring it down his neck… and beer awakens the Shay! Kay Lee bumps for an armdrag from the Giraffe, who then helps with a double-team Bronco Buster, which gets a near-fall for… Martina I think. Martina pulls out a condom, to chants of “Johnny Wrestling”… which we got!
Ray searches Shay and finds some contraband on him, then tries to arrest him… that doesn’t work out, and somehow the Giraffe pulls off a Destroyer on Kay Lee! Martina steals the pin, and that’s the match! Martina turns heel on the Giraffe, but it’s okay with her… beautiful nonsense!
That Giraffe has a better Destroyer than half the indy scene!
After the match, Kay Lee tries to stop Martina from having a session, but instead she gets a mouthful of Carlsberg… and that cures her!
#CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) vs. Jimmy Havoc & Clint Margera
Well, this is quite the team! I think #CCK may actually die here… Lykos actually cowers away in fear, which was a nice touch.
Lykos then got some courage and armed everyone with baking trays… and hit himself in the head. Maybe, a little too hard, as he then rounded up everything and had a change of heart. Awesome! What wasn’t awesome, was the frying pan that Jimmy Havoc found, and promptly used on both of #CCK!
The fight quickly spilled outside the ring, where Margera took a stiff knee to the head as #CCK double-teamed him until Jimmy sprayed them with Carlsberg. Brookes tried to use the pan, but that just angered Margera, as Havoc just poked a cowering Lykos in the face. Lykos manages to recover and hit a springboard senton for a near-fall as the bell rings… yes, the match hadn’t even begun!
Margera gets a two count from a Diamond Dust, whilst Havoc eats his frying pan again… knocking him into a chair for a tope con hilo from Lykos. Brookes drops Margera with a German suplex as #CCK go to the Codebreaker/Back senton combo… and then we get the viral moment.
“What are you doing?”
SHAME ON YOU TO EVER DOUBT US. #CCK @KidLykos pic.twitter.com/nVAC8UI7M2
— Chris Brookes (@OBEYBrookes) March 20, 2017
Brookes lays down and propels Lykos into a big splash, or as he calls it, “a sick f**king tag move, idiot!”. Sorry Chris!
Margera gets isolated as Lykos – he of “shit Power Ranger” fame – stomps over him, before Brookes comes in for a double wet willie! Eventually the death match pair fight back, with Havoc hitting a double missile dropkick, then a double rope-hung lungblower in the corner. Lykos takes a Go To Sleep, a rolling forearm then a Rainmaker, but Brookes breaks up the cover by kicking Jimmy in the head.
A death valley driver from Margera gets a near-fall, but #CCK double team again to take control, this time with a double superkick taking down Margera for a two-count. Lykos goes from Dirty Wolf to AR Fox with a Lo Mein Pain, then comes in with his part of the Ink Bomb as Margera refused to stay down.
Brookes wipes out Margera with a tope as we’re left with Havoc and Lykos… whose forearms are predictably ineffective. Havoc misses a couple of Rainmakers, but succeeds on the third go, only to get rolled up instantly by the still-legal Brookes for the win. A dirty finish, btu I loved this match, right from Lykos’ cowardice at the start, to the cheap ending… fine tag team wrestling! ***¾
Will Ospreay & Mark Haskins vs. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate)
Well, this is quite the team! Trent comes out and says that, in memory of Dennis Stamp, they weren’t booked. So they booked themselves into a tag match!
Haskins and Bate start rather tentatively after Will’d led the crowd in a poll to decide their team name… Haskins bridges back on an armbar to force Bate to the mat for a near-fall, before they catch the other’s kick, then lower their feet and stand off. A series of pinning predicaments follow, as do a pair of missed dropkicks, and we have a cheer!
Ospreay tags in, “so he can play”, and young Will is like a hyperactive kid after a case of Red Bull, commentating his every move, including the Okada-esque clean break. It actually works in this intimate setting, with the crowd eating up every single second of it. Oh my God, Trent actually did a cartwheel! Holy shit indeed!
Will replies with a handspring back elbow that doesn’t break the ropes, then gets piledriven as he tried to egg Trent into doing the same… and so the match kicks off with gusto! That included a dual tope from Haskins and a Space Flying Tiger Drop from Ospreay that almost went off as he clipped the rope on descent, before Haspreay/Oskins (?!) started to work well as a duo, battering Tyler Bate as Trent was forced to watch from the apron.
Tyler deadlifted Ospreay into a suplex, before reversing a double suplex and taking both of them down himself. Freaky strength from that kid! Trent finally comes in and clotheslines both men, then drops them both with a half-nelson suplex. Ospreay takes another piledriver for a near-fall, but it’s Haskins who has to fight out a double-team, as he goads Bate into getting suplexed into a Tree of Woe-riddled Seven.
Haskins and Seven exchange stinging chops, before a sequence leaves everyone laying after way too much to call. Stuff like a shooting star press onto a bridging German suplex, Trent accidentally chopping Tyler… all that rapid-paced stuff that you’d either love or hate. It was loved here, so that’s all that matters.
More back and forth sees Haskins rebound from a Koppo kick from Bate, into a death valley driver, before Ospreay threw in a springboard 450 for a near-fall. Ospreay and Seven swap elbows and forearms, before a headbutt takes down Trent. Tyler leaps out of a Cheeky Nando’s and punches Will, before Moustache Mountain followed in with their Cheeky Vegans kick… and a Doomsday Device that Ospreay flips out of! From there, Haskins takes care of Bate with a Sharpshooter, as Ospreay finished off Trent with an OsCutter. Another great tag team outing here, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Yes, this veered close to “WrestleHouse” at times, but at least the ga-ga was brief and the match excellent. ****¼
Candice LeRae vs. Nixon Newell
So… this was Nixon’s final match in Fight Club: Pro (for now!), and it was fitting that it was against someone who you may say was her American equivalent!
Nixon’s still a little sore after falling in drawing pins the prior night, so there’ll be none of that hardcore malarkey here! Headlocks! Waistlocks! Reversals! Then a forearm… because Nixon only knows so much (her words, not mine!), so Candice retaliates with headscissors, before being forced to abort a dropkick off the middle rope.
Newell hits a uranage as LeRae ran at her, then hits a bridging fallaway slam for a near-fall, only to be killed by a Stunner. Sold like Scott Hall too! A forearm cuts-off Candice’s dive, and some accidental lager spraying leads to a fightback from Candice, as she places Nixon in a chair and boots her out of it. Candice goes under the ring for a gift bag… her leaving present for Nixon is… GUMMY BEARS! Nixon pushes away a tornado DDT into the sweets, then superkicks LeRae off the apron for a tope! LeRae uses Joel to steady herself for a rope-walk ‘rana to the floor, eventually getting a two-count, before throwing Nixon into the gummy bears.
Newell picks herself up, but her superplex attempt gets blocked, and she’s eventually superplexed herself into the sweet treats! After Joel frees a stuck bear, they exchange forearms, before a teased Destroyer’s cut-off with a superkick. More bumps into the bears follow, as they try to kick each other’s head off, before Nixon hits a Destroyer into the bears… for a one-count!
Another elbow in the corner sets up Nixon for a Panama Sunrise (Destroyer after a leap off the middle rope), but that only gets a two-count, as does LeRae’s small package to counter a Shining Wizard. A Ballsplex connects, but LeRae blocks another Destroyer, then hits a springboard reverse ‘rana! The crowd boos as she lands Nixon’s own Shining Wizard, but she kicked out at two, before she was caught on the top rope and given a Balls-superplex by Newell. The Shiniest Wizard follows, and Nixon goes out with a win! This didn’t need to be great, this just had to be a showcase and a memorable match for Nixon to leave on – and it succeeded on all counts! ***
After the match, Nixon gets her farewell speech, thanking everyone, saying that without Fight Club: Pro, there’d be no Nixon Newell. Chris Brookes, Candice LeRae and Kay Lee Ray get special mentions, before they open up several cans of the Fixxion’s favourite lager to toast themselves.
Fight Club: Pro Championship: Travis Banks vs. Pete Dunne (c)
No entrances here, as Pete Dunne jumps Travis before he’d even touched the ring! The challenger’s then thrown into some chairs as Dunne looks to inflict as much pain as he can before the bell rings.
We see Banks’ legs fly in the air as I guess he got suplexed onto the floor, then thrown into even more chairs. A powerbomb through two chairs follows in the ring, as Shay didn’t ring the bell for whatever reason… as he waited for Travis to haul himself up… then run into Dunne with a diving clothesline and follow quickly in with a brainbuster at the bell, but that’s only going to get him a two-count! Banks is on fire here, laying into Dunne with uppercuts and a cannonball – but Peter catches that and turns it into a powerbomb to give him some breathing room. Dunne washes his boot on Banks’ face, but he runs into a forearm, before replying with an enziguiri… only to see a Bitter End turned into a DDT.
Banks tries to capitalise with a springboard enziguiri out of the corner, but a forearm cuts that off as both men are left on the mat. The challenger keeps piling on the pressure with a diving clothesline again, but Dunne grabbed Shay the ref and ended up switching around into a roll-up… with his feet on the ropes, and that’s the win! Everyone seemed confused as the bell didn’t go until later, but that’s an angry crowd with a short main event!
The crowd chant “bullshit”, but they remember… Travis has a second title shot, and they chant “cash it in”. His Infinity trophy’s brought into the ring, and Banks demands that Dunne returns for his title shot!
Fight Club: Pro Championship: Travis Banks vs. Pete Dunne (c)
So, we resume, with a tope as Banks took out Dunne and his title belt!
They return to the ring, where Dunne kicks Banks low – intentionally looking for a DQ – but Shay crosses his arms and refuses to give the call. The trophy’s smashed on Banks’ back, but again, Shay refuses to disqualify the champion, as Banks sits up enraged… Shay shoves Dunne, who then takes that springboard roundhouse that almost wins him the title! This crowd is rabidly behind the Kiwi, who gets his fingers bitten en route to a Bitter End… for a near-fall! Dunne levels Banks with a forearm, but again, he will not stay down, popping up again from a snap-German suplex off the ropes, before accidentally booting Shay.
The ref crumbles to a knee, then all the way down after Banks accidentally swings Dunne’s boot into him. So Banks hits the roundhouse again and covers Dunne, forgetting that he just killed the ref! Everyone screams for Joel to re-emerge, but instead we get another Bitter End as Shay wakes up…
BUT TRAVIS KICKS OUT!
Dunne tries to bite away at Shay after that, but Banks beats him to it, before giving him a sit-out Screwdriver as #CCK head out to break up the count… and take a tope from Banks into a bunch of seats! Back in the ring, Dunne gives Banks his own move, as Joel Allen came out to count another near-fall. Travis gives Dunne a forearm, then a Destroyer, before Pete’s kayfabe brother Damian (Chief Deputy) Dunne makes the save and lays into Joel Allen, then Travis. With his arse-cheek trunks. It’s #CCK and the Dunnes against Banks, but then a fan jumps into the ring… and reveals himself as MK McKinnan!
MK had had to retire in July last year, giving up his title at the Rage Against The Death Machine in the process. He was aligned with Peter then, but not now, as the former KYS (Kill YourSelf) members imploded, with MK superkicking Pete, then wiping out Damian, as everyone else takes a tope con hilo through the ropes from the former champion! All that’s left is for Travis to deliver one final springboard roundhouse… but Peter kicks out! A modified crossface follows… and how sweet it is. The man whose favourite wrestler may or may not have used that move… wins the title by submission! A fantastic way to pay off the year-long storyline, with Travis Banks standing tall with his first British singles title! ****
Pete Dunne graciously hands over the belt and makes a swift exit, as MK pats Travis on the back, and cue the chant of the day to everyone’s favourite Kiwi! MK and Will Ospreay parade Banks on their shoulders as the babyface locker room empties out to celebrate with him as the show ends on an almighty high.
Well, this was easily the best of the weekend shows – plenty of wackiness, but a lot of good wrestling too, and a pay-off to a long-running and much-invested storyline to boot. When done right, all storylines have the potential to elicit this kind of reaction – from fans who suspend their disbelief and believe that there is a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. This. Is. Wrestling!