FIGHT! Nation Wrestling main evented with Mark Haskins and Joseph Conners for the British heavyweight title in a rematch from several weeks prior in their latest event.
The show opened with an in-ring interview segment with Mark Haskins and ring announcer Chris Hatch. They acknowledge that Conners has already lost a title shot, but Haskins doesn’t care how many shots Conners gets. Nor why Conners got another title shot…
After the opening titles, we’re taken back to the ring where Mark Haskins gets blindsided by Joseph Conners, who then swears that he’ll lift the title tonight. On his way out, Conners shouts “I can’t hear you”, in a bid to get some more boos… It sort-of worked.
We see a replay from last week’s show, where the Swords of Essex debuted, with Paul Robinson and Scott Wainwright laying out Lewis Howley and Sid Scala after their tag match. Cue clips from a sit-down interview from the Swords, who say that they’re two-thirds of one of the best teams in England. They emphasise that they’ve “not just been put together”, and they’re in action next.
Swords of Essex (Paul Robinson & Scott Wainwright) vs. Shay Purser & “Bronco” Brendan White
You know when you do a double-take on someone? Shay Purser is perhaps better known as the referee from ATTACK! Pro Wrestling, and he has had training, but my word, this makeshift combo does not stand a chance.
After an incredibly awkward way of not recapping last week’s events (“if you weren’t watching last week it’s easy to catch up, we’re on YouTube… it’s very quick to find the video… go watch that and then come back, and if you did that, welcome back”), Purser starts out with Robinson, and the former ATTACK! Pro 24:7 champion is instantly taken down and beaten on by Robinson.
Purser gets fish-hooked as our commentator decides these guys aren’t worthy of names… Wainwright punches, then headbutts “victim A”, before he chokes Purser across the middle rope. Robinson tags back in and knocks Purser down, before he slaps him and goes for a sunset flip for a near-fall. From the roll-back, Wainwright kicks Purser in the chest, before more fish-hooking leaves him open for a chop from Robinson.
Robinson snapmares Purser before he gnaws on the ear, as Wainwright hits a slingshot back suplex, and then launches Robinson into him for a corner dropkick. More frequent tags from the Swords of Essex, and Purser finally takes down Wainwright with some headscissors before tagging in Brendan White.
White takes down Wainwright with some clotheslines and elbows, before we get a blast from the past from the commentator as “What-a-Maneuver” – or the Black Hole Slam, as this variation is more commonly known – takes down Robinson. Wainwright gets a foot up to block a corner charge, and he lifts up White for a death valley driver. Robinson looks to assist the move with a corkscrew kick that seems to miss (judging by the children laughing…), but they don’t make a cover and White’s able to tag out.
In comes Purser, but he;s caught in the middle turnbuckle, and gets dropped with a Codebreaker out of the corner, then a double stomp from Robinson for the win. Purser looked pretty good as a babyface-in-peril here as, save for White’s offence, this was an extended squash. A dominant win for the Swords of Essex. Now, if only FIGHT! Nation had a tag team division to speak of… **¼
Next week, FIGHT! Nation welcomes the debuting Wes Brisco. Yes, the same one who was part of Aces and Eights in TNA a few years back…
They go to another sit-down interview, this time with Joseph Conners and Mark Haskins, building up the main event. A lot of this is built around insinuations that Conners manipulated his way to a second title show, and Mark Haskins not giving a stuff about it.
FIGHT! Nation British Heavyweight Championship: Joseph Conners vs. Mark Haskins (c)
Conners decks Haskins with the belt before the bell – and after ordering Steve Lynskey to ring the bell, he only gets a two-count as Haskins kicked out.
We actually get a move called on commentary, as Conners gets a two-count from the Michinoku Driver, but Haskins fires back with a tope to the outside after a leapfrog sent the challenger out of the ring. Haskins elbows Conners as he sat on the apron, before a running calf kick knocked Conners to the floor.
Conners gets shoved into the ringpost, before he chops the ring post, and eventually gets rolled back into the ring. They play cat and mouse, before Conners catches Haskins with a rope hung DDT for a near-fall. More stalling as Conners parades with the title, as he then lawn darts Haskins into the ringpost.
Back inside the ring, Haskins again kicked out, as Conners kept stomping away on him, before a short-arm clothesline gets another two-count. A slingshot into a DDT gets Conners another near-fall, and seemingly some chants of “you can’t wrestle” just before Haskins launched another comeback.
Haskins scores with a diving dropkick into the corner, then gets a second one with an outside-in dropkick. A ducked clothesline gives Haskins a chance to land one of his own for a near-fall. Conners ducks a kick, but takes a double knee press for another two-count, before he fights out of a death valley driver and ends up in a Stretch Muffler.
Conners grabs the rope, before he pushes away Haskins and ends up tweaking his knee from a leapfrog. Of course, it’s Conners playing possum, as he rolls up Haskins for a near-fall, before landing a double stomp out of the corner for another two-count. A crucifix bucklebomb and a clothesline got Conners another near-fall, as he levelled Haskins with some elbows in the corner.
Haskins collapsed to the mat after those elbows, but he counters a powerbomb into a backslide, before a superkick eventually sets him up for the bridging armbar… but in comes James Castle to attack Haskins for the cheap DQ. ***
Castle pounds on Haskins as the decision is announced: Mark Haskins wins the match by DQ and retains the title. Conners grabs the microphone, and he seems nonplussed by the fact that he didn’t get the title. James Castle and Joseph Conners seemingly have a partnership, as they threatened to break Haskins’ neck, and after Conners shoved the referee out of the ring, he smashes Haskins with the belt again.
That’s not quite breaking a neck, and it’s also a rotten way to end a main event… you know my feelings on those kind of matches: either do a short, screwy match, or do this after the match. Apparently Haskins/Castle is coming up in a few weeks time.
All in, an inoffensive episode with more of the same. They got the Swords of Essex over as a unit, but without any tag team titles to contend for, that group is rudderless from day one.